-An introduction and history of Ewokese - A dictionary of Ewokese terms - A Lessons section - A Number Chart - Transcriptions of all Ewokese dialogue known to humankind - Alphabet and font gallery - Related links - Source section

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Spirit SpeakEwokese 101:

An IntroductionWe first learn about the Ewok species in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. They are also featured in a television movie, The Ewok Adventure, and a 26 episode cartoon series called Ewoks. Their language was developed by Ben Burtt. Ben Burtt talks about that process in his Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide. Ewokese is based on Tibetan, Kalmuck, and a small amount of North American Lakota. Ben Burtt says in Bantha Tarcks #17 August 1982:"For the Ewoks, I was inspired by a recording on a BBC documentary of an elderly woman speaking Tibetan. It was very high-pitched and sounded like a good basis for Ewokese to me. Eventually then, what evolved was a pidgin, or double talk version of words from Tibetan, Nepali and other Mongolian languages. Huttese was created by the same process." (7) For more information, read Ben Burtt's book.HistoryThe Ewoks live on a moon that revolves around the planet, Endor. The moon however, is often referred to as Endor itself and sometimes the Sanctuary Moon. The Endor moon is covered with forests and many forest dwelling species, one of which is the Ewoks. There are different tribes of Ewoks. The one with which we are familiar with live in dwellings built into the tree-tops. They are a very superstitious species and have strong religious beliefs that center around the trees of their homeworld. Although they are sentient, their civilization has not progressed past the use of spears.. "The Ewok language is liquid and expressive, and most humans and other aliens can learn to speak it. Ewoks, conversely, can learn Basic, though they often mix in many words from their own language."(1) Not much is known about Ewokese, or Ewok. It is one of the six million forms of communication known by C-3PO who refers to the Ewoks he encounters as using a "very primitive dialect."(2) Because there are different tribes, there are also different dialects of the language. Perhaps with more interaction with the New Republic in the aftermath of the Ewoks' help to the Rebellion in destroying the Second Death Star, more can be learned about these brave and loyal beings.GrammarWe must assume that Basic has already infiltrated the Ewok language when we see variations of Basic words such as sun, polar, and ruins compared to their Ewok equivalents: sunee, pola, and rueenee. It is also possible that Huttese may have influenced Ewokese as there is the Huttese word Dobra which translates as "I am" and the Ewok word Dobra which means "Elders." Perhaps it is merely a lingual coincidence.

Replace these 'English' words in your daily life with 'Ewok' words in these phrases.

Axe -> EekeetuhkuhI chopped the tree down with an axe.I chopped the tree down with an eekeetuhkuh.Brother -> FrukMy brother is a real brat.My fruk is a real brat.Beautiful -> LuuThe ocean is very beautiful at sunset.The ocean is very luu at sunset.Please -> GyeeshPlease pass the carrots.Gyeesh pass the carrots.Berry -> SleeshI like the new berry cheerios.I like the new sleesh cheerios.Fire -> Siz Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Chestnuts roasting on an open siz. Far away -> Bok chuu-ock A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, bok chuu-ock. Cook -> Entzahee roda I can cook a whole turkey. I can entzahee roda a whole turkey. Eat -> Roda He eats like a pig. He roda like a pig. Early -> Neetuhl The early bird catches the worm. The neetuhl bird catches the worm.

1. Tommy of Escondido Alien Fonts Pagehttp://webspace.webring.com/people/uu/um_362/index.html2. Geocaching http://www.geocaching.com (On the first page click "Hide and Seek a cache" button, then search for "azar kna" by keyword. Click on highlighted link result "N'la azar kna naa" for the entire page. Ewok is used on this page. (5))3. Learn Tibetan: http://www.learntibetan.net/4. theforce.nethttp://www.theforce.net/

Sources:

1. A Guide to the Star Wars Universe by Bill Slavicsek2. Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Original Release3. Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Special Edition4. Star Wars Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide by Ben Burtt5. Team Spoonhead, Pantalaimon at geochaching.com6. Return of the Jedi by James Kahn7. starwars.com8. Dark Emperor (SL3313)

Legal note: Star Wars belongs to like George Lucas and stuff so it's like copyrighted by him or something. The Complete Wermo's Guide to Huttese and Other Star Wars Languages and Star Wars Living are my creations. Please acknowledge the Star Wars code of ethics by not copying and pasting large chunks of information from my site to your own. Please credit me and link to me if you do use information from my site.Thank you.

Transcript:

If any of y'all out there have The Ewok Adventure television movie on tape and want to transcribe any Ewokese that is in it, it would be a very welcome addition to this page. Full credit would be given to you, of course!

Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi The following Ewok/Basic dialogue, unless otherwise noted, is phonetically transcribed by me from the actual film version of Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, 1983 version. The dialogue spoken in the movie is slightly altered from that in the screenplay and other sources. I tried to keep the dialogue in chronological order as it appears in the film. Because the dialogue is written down by ear, spelling errors and omissions may occur. An interesting note about Ewokese is that not one phrase is subtitled on the bottom of the screen throughout the entire movie. Dark Emperor (SL3313) from the great 501st Garrison sends this in: "the Visual Dictionary for the Trilogy's location claims that the language C-3PO talks to the Ewok is not actually Ewokese but Yuzzum Trade tongue." (n/a) means that the Basic translation is not available.

[EWOK CELBRATION SONG]Ewok Celebration:The following lyrics were sent to me by a friend. They are from the Ewok Celebration song heard at the end of the original version of Return of the Jedi. The Ewokese lyrics are by Ben Burtt. The English lyrics are by Joseph Williams. The song is copyrighted 1983 by Bantha Music.

Return of the Jedi novel by James KahnThe following dialogue is from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, paperback edition by James Kahn. The dialogue in this book is altered slightly from what is heard in the film.

I did not know there was an alphabet for Ewokese until I visited Tommy of Escondido's Alien Fonts Page. Scott writes in: "I supplied the source material for the font which I mostly got from the cartoon series episode "The Haunted Village" where one of the Ewoks holds up a scroll showing the history of the Matigrue's attacks on the Sunberrry's I also went through the two Ewok movies and the episodes "Blue Harvest", "Cries of the Trees", and "The Tree of Light" as well as the Walmart video "The Haunted Village" which containted parts of two other episodes." Thanks Scott!